The four-day inter-Syrian meeting in Moscow has come to an end. It was the first time since the talks were suspended in 2014 that representatives of the SAR Government engaged in direct contact with the Syrian opposition.

The moderator of the
meeting, the renowned Middle East expert Vitaly Naumkin, summed
up the Moscow Principles, in which the firm positions of the
parties aimed at preserving Syria’s sovereignty and territorial
integrity, ensuring security for all groups of the Syrian
society. During the meeting, participants also drafted and
adopted the Appeal to the International Community.

Of course, it would be
naive to assume that after nearly four years of bitter
confrontation the parties would immediately come to an agreement
on the ways out of this deep crisis. What’s important is that the
discussions held during the meeting, reflect the growing
willingness of various groups of the Syrian society to engage in
proactive and result-oriented efforts to restore peace in Syria.
Russia supports such aspirations. In his remarks, Foreign
Minister Sergey Lavrov highlighted Russia’s consistency in
promoting a political settlement in Syria based on the Geneva
Communique of June 30, 2012, as well as its commitment to and
support for the Geneva process.

Transition from confrontation to dialogue and bringing about
solutions to pressing issues on the national agenda require
considerable efforts, including the mutual willingness to make
inevitable concessions and reach compromises. This is the only
way to save Syria and defeat the forces that want to degrade its
people, split and undermine the unity of the country while
ignoring the risks of the spread of extremism and international
terrorism across the region.

We believe that understanding on the part of politicians and the
leading representatives of civil society of the need to put up a
collective rebuff to this common threat should be key to
restoring national unity in Syria.

Undoubtedly, this will require further talks in order to find
common ground regarding arrangements on practical measures to
build trust between the Government of Syria, the political
opposition and civil society, to expand and improve the practice
of local ceasefires, to remove obstacles to humanitarian access,
to settle the status of militants who have laid down their arms
and to free the people under arrest who were not involved in
terrorist crimes.

The positive feedback we receive regarding the Moscow meeting is
encouraging. What’s more, it comes not only from the
participants, but also from the members of the opposition who,
for some reason, couldn’t come this time. Both the opposition and
the Government expressed their desire for consultations in the
Moscow format to continue. We stand ready to further facilitate
inter-Syrian contacts.

Concurrently we will hold consultations with our colleagues,
including Syria’s neighbours. We plan to work closely with Egypt,
since that country is also taking steps to help form a single
opposition stance. Thus, we entertain modest hope that we can
help facilitate full-fledged negotiations, at which the Syrians
themselves will reach agreement on all aspects of life in their
country. It is important to remember that the whole point of the
Geneva communiqué is that the settlement process cannot and
should not be a zero-sum game. All Syrians must benefit from it
and be part of it.

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.